A Visit from the Broekers

This afternoon, my friend, Jamie, and her kids stopped by to meet Miss Lilah. They brought us some potato soup and Lilah an adorable outfit. It was nice to catch up with Jamie a bit and the kids loved to cuddle with Lilah. They even offered to babysit!

Hannah
Kyle

Nursing and Recovery

Overall, nursing has been going so well. The most interesting part has been how Macie and Gavin have responded. Before Lilah was born, Macie was concerned because we didn't have any bottles. I got out some and showed her that we did have some, but that Mommy would feed Lilah at first. The first night home, we let the kids eat dinner in the living room. I sat in my "green chair" as Macie calls it and started to feed Lilah. Both kids just kept looking at me. Their faces were priceless! They were trying to process everything that was happening. I didn't want to hide it from them and I've tried to make it as normal and no big deal as possible. Macie has asked a ton of questions and finally just said, "Oh, you feed her from your belly?" I said, "Yes!" That sounds better than the other option. Every time I lift or move my shirt, Gavin will say, "Feed Lilah" or he will point to the other side and say, "that turn now?"

The recovery, like my pregnancy, has been the most challenging yet! I guess adding the tubal caused a little more pain on my right side than I'd anticipated. Not to mention the cough (which causes my incision to hurt) and nursing the 3rd time around is PAINFUL! I talked to so many people who talk about their horror stories. It does make me feel better that I'm not just a total baby! My feet swelled so bad it looked like my toes were going to pop off and I've had a lot of issues with bowel movements...or lack there of! I am so grateful that this is the last time I'm going to go through this!

Little Miss Lilah is as sweet as can be! She really is a good baby. She typically only has one fussy period a night. Other than that, she sleeps 3 to 4 hours between feedings. During the day, she eats a lot more often which is fine by me. Yesterday was the first day for just the two of us. It was also her first snow! The house is a lot quieter with Brian at work and the other two at daycare. I definitely needed this time though. It is hectic enough bringing home a newborn with two small children already at home. Adding Christmas to the mix was a bit much. I'm enjoying my bonding time with her.

Feelings

Macie has been expressing her feelings more. Last week she told my mom she was jealous because Grandma was holding Gavin and not her. The other day she told Brian she was mad because she couldn't go with him. Macie is a very emotional child and I think that it's great that she is learning how to express those feelings verbally. Every day, I'm reminded how much she is growing up!

Speaking of growing up, when I came home from the hospital, I expected the kids to look bigger to me. Macie really didn't, but Gavin did! I feel like he grew a ton! He is such a big boy and is talking more and more every day!

Head Bands

Macie and Gavin love to wear headbands just like Mommy! I think they look pretty darn cute:)

Pictures and Presents

On Monday,Grammie, Pops, and Uncle John came for a visit. They brought a car load of gifts! The gifts were from Brian's extended families and Uncle John. I have to admit that I was overwhelmed when they brought everything in. It was crazy! It was Uncle John's first time to meet Lilah and it was nice to see Grammie and Pops again.
While they were here, Aunt Allie came to take pictures of Lilah for her birth announcement. I had to stop and feed Lilah in the middle because she was upset. After that, she did great. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Look at all of those presents!

Uncle John and Lilah

Brian and I got gifts too! This popcorn tin and money!

Gavin's Gifts

Macie's Gifts...that girl always closes her eyes!

Pops and Lilah

Lilah's Gifts

I walk into the living room and find that Macie had given Lilah one of her new babies...too sweet! She was talking to her about the baby!

Christmas Day/Night

Lilah gave us the best Christmas present. She slept one four hour stretch! Brian got the full four hours of sleep and I got about 3 1/2 hours at one time. It felt so good to actually settle into a little sleep.

I was actually feeling better Christmas day (probably because of the sleep), so I decided to go through all of the gifts and stuff from the hospital. It was piled in our room and driving me crazy. It felt so good to get all of that cleaned up, organized, and put away.

Grandma and Aunt Allie stopped by for a bit around lunch time. They wanted to see what the kids got from Santa. Grandpa planned to come, but he hurt his knee and wasn't up to leaving the house. After the kids showed them their presents, my mom gave us gifts from both sides of my family. Macie and Gavin each got a toy and two $5 bills. They were super excited and put the money in their banks right away. Brian and I raked in the gift cards! We now have a total of $135 to Red Lobster, Olive Garden, or Long Horn. It will be nice to use them throughout the year. We will need dates that don't cost us!

Once they left, the kids napped. Brian then gave me my Christmas present...he folded laundry:) We decided not to get each other gifts this year because Lilah was our big present. However, I was so happy that he helped get us caught up on all of the laundry. It was also piling up in our room.

For dinner, we had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans. We had cookies for dessert. We were lucky enough that many people brought us cookies and sweets. Once again, we ate on our Christmas plates. The kids thought they were so special to eat on "big people" plates. I loved that we had a small dinner just the five of us.

After dinner, Aunt Katie and her friend Luke stopped by for a visit. She had some gifts for Macie and Gavin. She brought Lilah's to the hospital, but she wanted to see the other two. By the time Katie and Luke left, it was time for the kids to go to bed. Overall, we had a great Christmas day, but we weren't done yet! Brian's parents planned to stop by the next day and we are celebrating with my family on New Year's Eve.

Macie got a Dora book from Great-Grandma Wolf

Gavin got a firetruck

A stocking from Grams B with a candy cane and money!

Even Lilah got a stocking

Gavin couldn't wait to nap with his Woody

Aunt Katie got Gavin a Thomas movie and a new train.

She got Macie a Dora movie and jewelry

Aunt Katie, Luke, and Lilah

Floor Time

After breakfast, we laid Lilah down on a blanket on the floor for the first time. The kids were all about it! They say that you don't enjoy "firsts" and other moments with your 2nd or 3rd child, but I don't feel that way at all. Not only are you excited to see how the new baby will react, but you also have the added joy of your first two. Macie and Gavin adore Lilah! They want to be involved in everything she does. I'm happy to have them to share these moments with!

Dr. Macie found a new patient

My beautiful babies!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning started VERY early in the Mitchell house. Macie was up before 5am. She wasn't feeling well and turns out she had a low grade fever. Everyone in our family has a cough/cold (except Lilah) and we've all been under the weather. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't go any where. We convinced Macie to go back to bed and she fell asleep. A few minutes later, Lilah was up and ready to eat. While I was feeding her, Gavin woke up and was crying because he'd peed through his pjs. Lilah had also peed through her pjs so they weren't able to wear their new pjs to open presents. Brian brought him into bed with us after he changed him. We cuddled for a bit until Macie woke back up. Once we all woke up, we went into the kitchen first to see if Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk. Then, it was into the living room to see what presents Santa left.
Macie and Gavin saw the princess cup and train cup right away. They were SO excited! The kids did so well when opening presents. They sat down while I passed out one present at a time. They opened the present, cleaned up all the trash, and we moved on to the next present. The kids were so patient and good. They were also so excited and it made Christmas morning so much fun.
Once all the presents were opened, I helped the kids open their gifts while Brian started breakfast. We started the tradition of eating a big breakfast on our Christmas dishes the first year we were married (which also happened to be Macie's first Christmas). Brian made scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuits, and gravy. Right before we ate, Brian read the birth story from the Bible. This Christmas was even more special because it is our first Christmas as a complete family!

I got each child this sign because I tell them this all of the time.

Macie was so excited and asked if we could hang it in her room

Macie was pumped about her manicure/nail polish set!

Look at that face! He LOVES his Woody!

Gavin wanted Macie's doctor kit

Santa brought our family gifts too...new games for game night!

Macie got Daddy a flashlight

Gavin got Daddy some peanuts that he hoped Daddy would share

Gavin got me a snowman hand towel and Macie got me some ponytail holders

Gavin with all of his gifts: construction books, pjs, shirts, sign, train cup, Woody doll, and lunch box.

Macie with all of her gifts: doctor kit, sign, nail polish set, lunch box, books, sweatshirt, and princess cup.

Lilah's gifts: t-shirt, dress, onsies, sign, bibs, and cinch sac.

Dr. Macie with her first patient

New pjs!

Daddy painted Macie's toes pink and her fingers purple!

The polish is even scented!